The Jayhawks - Mockingbird Time

(Decca)

Marking a long-awaited reunion of the band’s two principal songwriters Gary Louris and Mark Olson – the latter of whom acrimoniously left to live in the desert with his folk-singer wife (now ex) Victoria Williams in 1995 – Mockingbird Time will be greeted with open arms by fans of this Minneapolis alt-country quintet, and relished with not a murmur of disappointment.

The Jayhawks might have gone the Grammy-winning way of their Twin Cities contemporary Jeff Tweedy’s Wilco had Olson stuck around and the stars aligned during their mid-to-late-90s major label heyday, which makes their willingness to let bygones be bygones all the more admirable. Through the Beatles-meets-Gram-Parsons bar room shuffle of ‘Hide Your Colours’ to country-rock ramble Neil Young-style ‘High Water Blues’, this is a winningly upbeat and hope-filled return that turns back the clock with ease.